Is Nothing Sacred In Musical Theatre? Not If The Author is Dead!

Bye Bye Birdie Live! will be an adaptation of the Broadway musical that starred Dick Van Dyke as Albert Peterson alongside Chita Rivera. Michael Stewart wrote the book, while Lee Adams wrote the lyrics and Charles Strouse, the music. The story takes place during the rock ‘n’ roll era in a small Ohio town, where rock star Conrad Birdie has infected all the teenagers with Birdie fever. The original 1960 Tony-winning Broadway musical, which inspired the 1963 film, centers on a songwriter-agent Albert and his sweetheart secretary Rosie, whose aim to stage a final publicity stunt for their hip-thrusting musician before he’s drafted into the Army. “Having Rosie be Albert’s secretary whom he’s having an affair with is sexist and old-fashioned,” states Harvey Fierstein “So I changed that. I made them both high school teachers.” “He’s the English teacher who writes a song, and she’s the music teacher who says, ‘I’ve got a great kid with a great voice, who ends up being Conrad Birdie, who’s supposed to only take one summer off to promote the record but turns into a star.” It’s been eight years and Rosie just wants to go back to their real lives. Jennifer Lopez, who is also exec producing plans to highlight Rosie’s struggles as a Puerto Rican woman about to hit middle age and in a relationship with a man afraid of commitment.

Chita Rivera

Will the Shriner’s scene be cut, because if anything is sexist this is. Plus Rosie has just gotten drunk, due to the fact Albert choose his mother over her. Hmmm how are they handling that?

The musical will close with the climatic Ed Sullivan Show performance, which originally appears at the end of the stage show’s first act.

Book writer Michael Stewart is gone. He dies in 1987, but before he did Mr. Stewart bemoaned the fact that musical-book writers did not get the kind of appreciation accorded composers and lyricists. ”I don’t know why any bright person would want to be a musical-book writer,” he said in an article in The New York Times in 1979. ”You’re scorned by critics, you get no recognition from the public, and the money isn’t that good, either. I feel I’ve written two classic American musicals – ‘Birdie’ and ‘Dolly’ – but both books got terrible reviews.” Now his work will be changed without his consent, just like Arthur Miller’s work was and Miller was adamant that his work not be changed.

If you are going to revive a classic, why can it not stay as written? After all Stewart won the Tony for Best Book for both Birdie and Dolly. When will an author’s words be allowed to be protected and “PC” free?

Tony winner Jerry Mitchell and Emmy winner Alex Rudzinski, who both worked on NBC’s Hairspray Live!, will return for Bye Bye Birdie Live!. Mitchell will provide stage direction, while Rudzinski will head the technical aspects of the event.

Lopez will executive produce alongside Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Benny Medina, as well as Craig Zadan and Neil Meron.

Suzanna, co-owns and publishes the newspaper Times Square Chronicles or T2C. At one point a working actress, she has performed in numerous productions in film, TV, cabaret and theatre. She has performed at The New Orleans Jazz festival, The United Nations and Carnegie Hall. Currently she has a screenplay in the works, which she developed with her mentor and friend the late Arthur Herzog. She was the Broadway Informer on the all access cable TV Show “The New Yorkers,” soon to be “The Tourist Channel.” email: suzanna@t2conline.com

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